Heartbreak of widow who lost her love in shark-cage diving tragedy

An American widow this week spoke about how her life had been shattered by the death of her husband during a shark-cage diving expedition off Kleinbaai, near Agulhas in the Western Cape.

All that Sarah Tallman has to remember husband Chris by is a love song he wrote and a pendant she made by melting down their wedding rings and combining the metal with his ashes.

Chris, a banker and musician, his best friend, Casey Lajeu-nesse, and a Norwegian tourist drowned when the boat they were in capsized in 2008.

Sarah, 40, has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the owners of the shark-cage diving vessel ever since. She is suing skipper Grant Tuckett and the shark-cage diving business White Shark Projects for $2.2-million (about R24-million) for loss of support. She claims the company was negligent in allowing the boat to go to sea in weather that it should have known could endanger the passengers.

White Shark Projects said Chris signed a contract that included a waiver indemnifying the company.

The company said it was an "express term of the contract" that clients "acknowledged that cage diving, shark diving and boating are hazardous activities and accepted any and all risks of injury or death".

The trial started in the High Court in Cape Town in January. Closing arguments are due to be heard on July 28.

Sarah, speaking from her home in North Carolina this week, told how the accident had shattered her dreams of starting a family.

She said that a few months after she and Chris had wed on a beach in Mexico, he and Lajeunesse had gone to South Africa to swim among sharks - an ambition inspired by watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. She stayed behind to organise their honeymoon in Italy.

"I was excited for them to go on this trip together, especially since I had no interest in shark diving," she said.

But when Chris did not call her the evening that he had gone shark-cage diving and she could not get hold of him, she began to worry.

"No one called me after the accident, including the shark diving company, the US embassy or the police, despite me and my family calling all parties involved. After not hearing from Chris and Casey all day, I started to get very worried. I googled 'Cape Town, SA news' and read about the accident on one of the news websites.

"Losing Chris so shortly after our wedding and just a few weeks before our honeymoon was one of those stories that you read about ... unfortunately the story was about me.

"We had plans to start a family on our honeymoon. I have been stuck in an awful holding pattern for years and have suffered from severe depression and anxiety as a result."

Among the mementos she has of her husband is the pendant and the special song he wrote for her. Chris recorded three CDs under the stage name Matthew Chase, which were released on iTunes before he died.

"I melted down both our wedding bands, included some of his ashes and made a pendant that I now wear around my neck," she said. "The song that I hold closest to my heart is titled Believe and is a love song he wrote to convince me that I was the one and he was ready to marry."

Sarah's lawyer, Gavin Fitzmaurice, said there were no claims on behalf of Lajeunesse and the other man who drowned, Norwegian Kenneth Rogue, because they had left no dependants.

He said the court had to first determine whether White Shark Projects was liable for Chris's death. If Sarah's application succeeded, damages would be determined in separate proceedings.

The accident also left a mark on the owners of White Shark Projects. Charmaine Beukes, the company's general manager, said: "We share the pain and sadness of those who lost loved ones.

"The incident has affected us all deeply to this day. Mr Tuckett was viewed as an experienced and cautious skipper and continues to be held in high regard by his industry colleagues and peers."

Sarah visited Cape Town for the first time in February, when she was called to testify.

"I do hope to return some day under better circumstances, because I was amazed by the beauty and culture of the country," she said.